OEM Cross Drilled Rotors for a non S model?

[Tomikaze]

For a while I saw front and rear OEM cross drilled rotors for sale on suncoast motorsports parts page. They still have the fronts but they took the rears off their site. My local dealer is telling me that cross drilled rotors are not available for my non S car. Anyone know what parts off what years will fit? Such as S rotors will fit in the front and 987 rear rotors will fit the rears? Thansk for the help. -Tom

[rsfeller]

bought my front and rear cross drilled and slotted here as a kit including pads and sensors for a reasonable price:

http://tinyurl.com/2vq7nz

[benspeeder]

Thanks RSFeller - I just sent them a note inquiring if they can sell me a total brake package for my '99 2.5

[Tomikaze]

I think I want to stick with OEM parts on this one. At least the rotors...

[Chris_in_NH]

I think I want to stick with OEM parts on this one. At least the rotors...

these rotors ARE OEM. DRT buys the OEM rotors and makes all the holes/slots/etc at their shop.

i bought mine from these guys, too, as they are local to me. i picked up all 4 OEM Zimmerman rotors (with cross-drilled holes) for $300 from them. however, the hats were not painted/coated, so that may be why the price is higher now.

[benspeeder]

I just ordered:

$310.00 F+R rotors (Zimmermann) Drilled and slotted with red poweder coated hats.

> > $140.00 F+R PBR ceramic pads

> > $60.00 F+R sensors (4 total)

> > $90.00 SS brake lines kit (Techna-Fit w/lifetime warranty)

> >

> > $600.00 plus shipping

They did the deal for no shipping. This has been the best priced deal I've been able to find - I'll let you know what I think once it's installed. They did guarantee fitment.

Cheers,

Ben

[rsfeller]

Ben,

In my opinion if you are not a racer those stainless lines are just for looks and do not have the life expectancy beyond a couple years. Google the topic you find many facts against them, they are a racers tool. The blingers from the rice market have put to many on honda and toyotas with poor long term performance and dependability.

shawn

[benspeeder]

Hi Shawn,

I have a long history of racing with SCCA in GT1 and started by doing autocross and DE events with PCA. I purchased the Boxster as an ITR race project, but ended up with such a mint qaulity car I'm going to drive it for a year or two before I have a company like Farnbacher Loles rip it apart and cage it.

Never heard of stainless lines going bad in my 15 years racing...but thanks for the heads up - I will Google that. The stainless lines not only provide a higher measure of safety from getting cut, they provide firmer pedal feel due to less expansion in the lines.

Best,

Ben

[JFP in PA]

Ben,

In my opinion if you are not a racer those stainless lines are just for looks and do not have the life expectancy beyond a couple years. Google the topic you find many facts against them, they are a racers tool. The blingers from the rice market have put to many on honda and toyotas with poor long term performance and dependability.

shawn

Rubbish. I've used them for many years on street and race vehicles, have never had or heard of a failure.........

[rsfeller]

Never said failure, just not the intended purpose.

While redoing a Vw Vanagon Syncro with new brake lines from master to caliper I was contemplating stainless (flex) lines at the caliper that many vendors were selling. Figured if they were good enough for high performance needs that would be fine for a heavy duty vanagon syncro.

Many on the Vw board jumped on me for the idea and said stick with the stock for heavy duty and daily operation. I to was skeptical and found some discussions around the net via google and found many with the same opinion.

According to topics I read most stated they are fine for race and performance application but not to be put on your car for 5-10 years. They were intended for heavy duty use over a shorter interval and that over time would actually expend and wear greater then many OEM designs.

Just passing on the logic of what I read from many sites. Most stated they were for looks on daily drivers and not long term solutions.

Of course my boxster weighs 1/3 what my syncro does!

Edited February 5, 2008 by rsfeller

[JFP in PA]

Never said failure, just not the intended purpose.

While redoing a Vw Vanagon Syncro with new brake lines from master to caliper I was contemplating stainless (flex) lines at the caliper that many vendors were selling. Figured if they were good enough for high performance needs that would be fine for a heavy duty vanagon syncro.

Many on the Vw board jumped on me for the idea and said stick with the stock for heavy duty and daily operation. I to was skeptical and found some discussions around the net via google and found many with the same opinion.

According to topics I read most stated they are fine for race and performance application but not to be put on your car for 5-10 years. They were intended for heavy duty use over a shorter interval and that over time would actually expend and wear greater then many OEM designs.

Just passing on the logic of what I read from many sites. Most stated they were for looks on daily drivers and not long term solutions.

Of course my boxster weighs 1/3 what my syncro does!

So I guess that I should immediately panic over the set that have been on my 3500 lb Nissan for more than a decade of daily driving in any environment where the temps range from over 100F in the summer to sub zero (with tons of salt on the road) in the winter? Oh, and the car came from the factory with the stainless lines...............including the clutch hydraulic line.

I have read more incorrect "web-myths" on this subject than I would care to mention. If stainless lines are "short lived" or not for "heavy duty" use, how did they get DoT approval (yes, there are braided stainless lines with full DoT ratings), the same approval required for the OEM rubber types which are supposed to be good for the life of the car?

Braided lines do a couple of positive things: They do improve pedal feel as they do not flex as much as rubber under pressure; they are significantly stronger and resistant to damage than the rubber lines, which is why many types of racing require them as protection from either track or shrapnel damage. In over 35 years of racing everything from SCCA to NHRA top fuel, I have never seen or heard of a braided line failing……………………….

[benspeeder]

OK - so I have installed the parts purchased from DRT (top quality - perfect fitment).

Irony is that I'm having a hell of a time removing the brass flare nuts that connects the rubber brake line to the metal line connecting to the caliper. The nuts on the calipers came off fine but three of the four connecting to the rubber brake lines wont budge and one is now getting stripped. Got one new braided steel line on there easily - the other three are just being pains in the @ss.

I've ordered new metal caliper lines from the dealer because I'm stumped and getting ready to use my cutting wheel on the little brass nuts. The dealer had no suggestions other than to bring them the car. I refuse to quit.

Any suggestions? I'm using the special slotted wrenches designed to surround the nut to prevent stripping and have soaked them in penetrating liquid wrench oil. I have not applied any heat yet - that will be my last shot before cutting. Any issues using a propane torch to warm 'em up? Besides setting my car on fire or melting the fittings....

Thanks for any suggestions.

Edited February 14, 2008 by benspeeder

[Chris_in_NH]

Any suggestions? I'm using the special slotted wrenches designed to surround the nut to prevent stripping and have soaked them in penetrating liquid wrench oil. I have not applied any heat yet - that will be my last shot before cutting. Any issues using a propane torch to warm 'em up? Besides setting my car on fire or melting the fittings....

Thanks for any suggestions.

i'm not sure which 'penetrating liquid wrench oil' you used, but i have found that 'PB Blaster' works the best of all brands that i have tried. if that doesn't work after a few applications, a little heat may be needed. just be careful as the penetrating oil is probably flammable.

[benspeeder]

Thanks for the suggetion - two of the nuts stipped so I took 'em off with the wheel - went through like butter. Glad I ordered the lines - need them now. They were only $20 ea.

I'll have the project finished on Sat and will post my satisfaction. Next update will be in April following a DE at Pocono.

Cheers

Ben

[benspeeder]

This little project has become a total pain in the ***. Beware of Speed Bleeders in Porsche calipers.

I've used these speed bleeders in several Mazda race cars - they leak on the Porsche calipers - this company is going to get a seriously pissed of customer calling on Monday. The original bleeders now leak as well so the speed bleeders have ruined the threads in my calipers. Looks like a trip to the machine shop or some new calipers. At the cost of speed bleeder...

[Chris_in_NH]

This little project has become a total pain in the ***. Beware of Speed Bleeders in Porsche calipers.

I've used these speed bleeders in several Mazda race cars - they leak on the Porsche calipers - this company is going to get a seriously pissed of customer calling on Monday. The original bleeders now leak as well so the speed bleeders have ruined the threads in my calipers. Looks like a trip to the machine shop or some new calipers. At the cost of speed bleeder...

i've been using the Speed Bleeders for years on my (MY97) Boxster and have never had any leaks/problems. just my $.02.

[benspeeder]

Well, quick to criticize and quick to recant. SpeedBleeder offered to repair the calipers - I'll mail them out today - I'm curious if they charge or not, but the customer service was polite and responsive - a rarity today.

Chris - encouraging to hear you didn't have any long term problem with your set. I've had great results in the past with them and they are a lifesaver when solo at the track or just doing a system flush at home.

[Tomikaze]

Back to the original topic... I've been told that holes in Porsche OEM cross drilled rotors are "cast" in instead of being drilled in which makes them more expensive but also more durable. Any truth to this? I want to do some DE's with the car and I have seen cheap cross drilled rotors crack. All I realy want to know is can I slap a pair of 986 S cross drilled rotors or 987 non s cross drilled rotors on my 2003 986?

[Chris_in_NH]

Back to the original topic... I've been told that holes in Porsche OEM cross drilled rotors are "cast" in instead of being drilled in which makes them more expensive but also more durable. Any truth to this? I want to do some DE's with the car and I have seen cheap cross drilled rotors crack. All I realy want to know is can I slap a pair of 986 S cross drilled rotors or 987 non s cross drilled rotors on my 2003 986?

yes, cast rotors are less prone to cracking. how MUCH less prone is the question. and cross drilled rotors are going to crack whether you track or not.

i'm not 100% sure, but i don't think you can use the S rotors on your base. hence the need for aftermarket non-S drilled rotors. ;)

have you considered slotted rotors?

[Tomikaze]

Had slotted rotors on a Mazdaspeed Miata I just sold. Was happy with them. Just like the look of the Porsche Cross Drilled rotors but if they're not safe then slotted it will be.

Back to the original topic... I've been told that holes in Porsche OEM cross drilled rotors are "cast" in instead of being drilled in which makes them more expensive but also more durable. Any truth to this? I want to do some DE's with the car and I have seen cheap cross drilled rotors crack. All I realy want to know is can I slap a pair of 986 S cross drilled rotors or 987 non s cross drilled rotors on my 2003 986?

yes, cast rotors are less prone to cracking. how MUCH less prone is the question. and cross drilled rotors are going to crack whether you track or not.

i'm not 100% sure, but i don't think you can use the S rotors on your base. hence the need for aftermarket non-S drilled rotors. ;)

have you considered slotted rotors?

[benspeeder]

Brake update - I was very pleased that Speedbleeder took care of my calipers. It appears that while the speedbleeders went into the caliper straight they did chew up the threads enough to cause a leak. They tapped the caliper and screwed in a helicoil type thread and then intalled 7mm speedbleeders. Fixed it perfect, had a race engineer who was at the house working on the stock car look at them and also certify suitable for track use.

Day after I was happily enjoying my new brakes - rear ended on the highway. Car is now at the body shop. I won't be buying any lottery tickets this month :-(

Just heard the car will be totalled - let's see what I get - paid $11500.

Edited March 11, 2008 by benspeeder

[benspeeder]

I feel pretty lucky - wasn't hurt and received $18400 on the settlement. Not bad. I owned the car four months.

So what to I spend this on - another Porsche - any suggestions???